Chapter 4
Everything felt like a mess. Like his life was falling apart and there was nothing he could do but watch it crumble into shards so small he would never be able to put it back. That was how he felt right now. And how he had felt since Bianca died. Nico sat on the ground. He wasn't exactly sure where he had wound up. He only knew that he had wanted somewhere quiet and secluded. And this seemed to work. He was in the middle of a forest. That was all he knew. He buried his head into its arms. How everything turn out like this? He had never expected him to return the feelings Nico had for him. Yet he hadn't expected he would just... leave. Like that. Though oblivious, he had always been a source of strength and pain for Nico. Now he didn't know how to cope. Scream? Cry? Nico never liked to express his emotions, but now it was as if he had no more emotions. As if Percy had sucked them away from him. He closed his eyes and thought silently in the darkness and silence. Until a branch snapped behind him. He tensed but did not move. If he didn't move, they might think he didn't realize it was there, making Nico seem more vulnerable leading them to think he was less tough of an opponent. He waited. His senses told him something was off. He waited. He guessed it was a monster. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. He jumped off that spot, just an arrow landed where he was sitting. He looke dup and was shocked to realize it wasn't just one, but a swarm of monsters. How had he not known they were there until they were so close? He took out his stygian iron sword. And they all pounced at the same time. He brought his sword down on the head of one, then turned to fend off the claws of another. Looking carefully, he realized he recognized almost none of these monsters. Panic gripped at his heart. How had he faced against none of these before? Not the one whose claws he had to duck, or the one whose spear narrowly missed his neck, or the one who was aiming an arrow at him. Wait, aiming an arrow... He gasped as he felt the searing hot pain in his abdomen. The arrow had almost went through his back, and seemed to be made of a white glowing substance he had never seen below. He felt another sickening wave of pain go through his whole body, and he cried out. He had never felt pain that intense before, and that material, it felt as if it was trying to take something from him, and it wasn't just the crimson blood leaking from his wound to the ground. He could feel himself get physically weaker every second, and he collapsed to the ground. He felt strong hands grab tightly onto his arms, increasing the pain. He barely felt his hands and ankles being chained together. He struggled briefly before finally succumbing into the darkness. He went limp and blacked out from the extreme pain.